There's No Way, Right?
by ReachingSteiner
Summary: Eren and Annie seemed like an impossible couple. The hot-headed loudmouth, and the detached loner. There's no way they could be together... right? Rated M for language and suggestive scenes (just to be on the safe side).
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As it happens, Connie was the first one to spot it.

It had been during one of the 104th Trainee Corps' weekly hand-to-hand combat drills. These typically consisted of the entire division sweating their asses off in the broiling heat, with most of the trainees performing the drills with varying degrees of finesse, while the rest goofed off when Shadis had his back turned. Connie Springer was one of the latter. He was, at the moment, making faces at Sasha, who covered her mouth as she giggled. Something, however, stopped him right in the middle of his hippo imitation—something he thought he'd never see.

"Hey," he said, staring past Sasha, who looked up at him as she tried to stifle a laugh. "Is that…?"

Sasha looked over her shoulder, following Connie's gaze. It was a pair of trainees—Eren Jaeger and Annie Leonhardt, it looked like.

"Yeah, what about them?" she asked, turning back to Connie.

He pointed at the pair, suddenly eager. "You missed it! They were just—mmph!"

Connie was suddenly interrupted by the hand of Keith Shadis, which had grabbed him by the face and lifted him into the air.

"Whatever Jaeger and Leonhardt were doing," Shadis growled, "it was certainly more productive than you worthless Titan shits. Both of you—including you, potato girl—will be cleaning the latrines tonight, _after _I watch you perform the maneuver you should have been doing _flawlessly!_"

"Y-yes, sir!" Connie gasped, voice muffled by Shadis' hand, as he attempted to perform a midair salute.

"IS YOUR HAND ON THE WRONG SIDE AGAIN?!"

* * *

"…I'm telling you man, it's true!" Connie said to Jean that evening, leaning across the dinner table. "They were holding hands!"

Jean sat back on his bench, bemused. "Jaeger and… Annie?"

Connie took a bite of some kind of leaf—today's dinner was rabbit food, as the trainees had coined it, since there wasn't a scrap of meat to be found in it. "Yeah, that's what I thought," he said between chews, "but, I mean, maybe it's an 'opposites attract' kind of thing, you know?"

"…_what?_"

Connie's ears went red, as he mumbled something about it being what Sasha had said.

Marco leaned into the conversation from his seat next to Jean. "Well, they _have _been spending a lot of time together lately. I mean, they're partners in most of the drills we do, right? Especially hand-to-hand combat."

Jean still seemed deep in thought. "Yeah…" he replied, his voice trailing off.

Suddenly, a wicked grin spread across his face, as he turned around in his seat.

"Oh no," Marco sighed, slapping his forehead.

"So, Eren!" Jean called over to the boy in question, loud enough for the whole room to hear. His words dripped with taunting glee. "I hear you've gotten yourself a girlfriend!"

The entire 104th Trainee Corps, now quiet, turned their heads towards Eren to see his response.

Eren didn't even look up from the lettuce he had speared with his fork. "Speaking out of jealousy, Jean?" he said casually. "Mikasa tells me that your attempts to flirt with her have gone over even worse than your test scores."

Never before had Jean Kirschtein gone so quiet or his face turned so red than in that moment, when the entire room erupted in laughter.

He turned back to his friends, who didn't even try to hide their amusement, with a defeated look on his face.

"You know, Jean," Marco chuckled once the room had died down a bit, "have you ever put any consideration towards _not _being an ass to Eren?"

"Shut up," Jean grumbled.

And maybe he imagined it, but as the trainees around them slowly returned to their conversations, Connie swore he saw Annie Leonhardt softly smiling.

* * *

Author's Notes: Oh, Jean. This was really fun to write, so please let me know what you thought of it! I'm looking forward to the next few chapters... *wink wink*

-Steiner


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mina Carolina was a rather ungraceful sleeper.

This was much to the annoyance of her bunk mate, Annie, who constantly found herself being awoken by wet-sounding snores that made her stomach churn, or an accidental whack in the face by a stray limb as Mina flopped onto her other side. Mina always blushed with embarrassment and gave her a sheepish smile and an apology in the morning, recognizing from the dark circles under her blonde friend's eyes that she'd been unable to sleep… again.

Knowing this, Mina supposed she shouldn't have been surprised when she woke up in the middle of the night to find the other side of the bed cold and empty.

"Mph… Annie?" she mumbled, wiping a string of drool from her mouth. She untangled a hand from the cocoon of blankets around her, reaching out in expectation of bumping into her friend's back and receiving an annoyed "…_what?_" in response. But she felt nothing.

Mina rolled over, her eyes unwilling to open even a crack despite her need to see. "Ann-Ann?" she whispered, knowing that the normal response from Annie upon hearing that nickname was a well-aimed pillow to the face. Again, nothing.

Mina rolled over again, the gears in her head slowly grinding to life as she moved across the bed—before abruptly falling over the side with an undignified squeak. She crashed to the ground, unhurt but very much awake by this point. She squirmed out of the covers and gathered herself to her feet, mentally huffing over how stupid gravity was.

Well, too bad Annie had missed this display.

* * *

Mina tiptoed through the deserted halls, hugging herself to keep warm as she glanced around for her absent blonde friend. The last thing Mina wanted to do was stumble into Shadis at this time of night, as the punishment for being out of bed would be several torturous hours of scrubbing the halls of the dormitory—but her natural curiosity propelled her to go looking for her bunkmate. It reminded her of the times when she would play hide-and-seek with her dad; it's not like he went to much trouble to hide himself, but her natural sleuthing skills had her discovering him within a minute each time. A fond grin spread across Mina's face, and she hurried down the hall, eager to unearth Annie's whereabouts.

First, the downstairs lounge. A quick scan revealed nothing but pillows and a thin trail of crumb-toting ants as the only inhabitants of this room.

The mess hall was closest to that. Moonlight filtered through the series of dusty windows and illuminated the interior, revealing the worn-down tables to be bare of activity.

Perhaps the bathrooms. Peeking around the corner, Mina was disappointed to find that not even the rusting faucets were out of line.

Maybe in a storage closet? Brooms, buckets, old textbooks, a couple of spare uniforms… the sight of a mattress covered in stains made Mina quickly shut the door, not wanting to think about what might have caused the discolorations.

Damn, what was left? Mina strolled down a corridor, deep in thought. Had Annie completely disappeared? No, there was no way Mina had missed something… she'd been more thorough in her search than Armin while cleaning his Maneuver Gear, and that was saying something. Maybe Annie had returned to the bunkroom while Mina was occupied with her investigation? That's probably what it was… but what if it wasn't?

Turning a corner, Mina was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice the pair of entangled trainees in front of her until she'd nearly walked right into them.

Mina froze, her pepper-colored eyes widening in surprise.

It was the shock-inducing—but nonetheless unmistakable—sight of Eren Jaeger and _Annie-freaking-Leonhardt _arduously making out, right in front of her.

Neither of them noticed their abrupt spectator, continuing with their… activity… unashamedly. Annie's hair was out of its routine bun, splayed all around her head and face as Eren's fingers ran through it lustfully. Their arms were wrapped so tightly around each other that it was a wonder they could breathe, especially considering that they hadn't separated for air in the past minute—wait, had Mina been standing here a whole minute?

She made for a stealthy retreat back behind the corner, but the sudden creak of a floorboard under her foot prompted both of the trainees before her to suddenly glance over, finally aware of their unexpected company.

"Um," Mina coughed awkwardly in her hand.

Annie was staring at her, cerulean eyes wide open, as a crimson blush quickly spread across her face—Eren, however, noticing Annie's sudden embarrassment, grinned widely as he held in a laugh.

Mina took another step back. "I'm just… gonna go back to bed," she hurried, pointing down the hall. "You two... uh... continue with whatever you were doing—which I totally didn't see, by the way, I was never even here, I was totally the opposite of here. Um… bye!"

As Mina took off down the hall, rushing to avoid the awkwardness of the situation, she couldn't help but overhear Eren's quip to Annie:

"You know, you're really cute when you're blushing."

Mina could only assume the thump that followed was Annie's fist driving into Eren's midsection.

* * *

"If there's one thing I'll never get used to here, it's this porridge," Mina joked, glancing across the table at her blonde friend the following morning. Annie's head slouched against her hand, barely propped up from falling straight into the untouched bowl of porridge in front of her. The dark circles around her azure eyes were even worse than normal, but instead of the blasé expression Annie typically wore, she actually seemed somewhat… content. There was no smile, but Mina knew her friend well enough to be able to read her emotions at a glance.

Mina leaned forward, grinning secretively. "Let me guess… you're thinking about him, aren't you?"

"If by 'him' you mean the mutated slop in my bowl, then yes," Annie mumbled tiredly.

Mina giggled. "You know who I mean, Miss Leonhardt, and there's no chance in hell you can deny it."

Annie glanced up at her smug friend. "If you even think about teasing me over this or telling anyone, I will forcibly replace your teeth with your toenails."

Mina leaned back, cringing reflexively. "Point taken."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, Mina gulping down another spoonful of porridge.

"So…"

Annie sighed. "Forget it, Mina."

Mina crossed her arms, pouting. "Come on! I won't pester you about it, I just want to know, y'know, how it happened."

The blonde rubbed her temples, hoping to get some of the tiredness out of her system. "Not talking about it."

"You're really gonna be like that?"

"Yep."

Mina sighed, picking her tray up and standing. "Fine," she replied, beginning to walk towards the trash bin.

She paused for a moment. "But for the record…"

Annie glanced up at her friend.

Mina winked. "It's about time you got some action, Ann-Ann."

As she strolled away, Mina grinned smugly at Annie's frustrated sigh.

* * *

Author's note: Mina deserved more screen time, dammit! I hope I did her justice here, she and Annie are awesome to write. Anyway, please review and let me know what you thought, I appreciate all of your feedback :)

-Steiner


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The first crimson hue of sunrise was steadily outshone by the pink glow of morning. The feral beasts of the woods, driven by the eternal cycle of nature, returned to their hollows in the trees and their burrows under the earth. While they succumbed to the bliss of temporary hibernation, the 104th Trainees Squad was unceremoniously awoken with the shouts and screams of their beloved commander, Shadis.

Amidst the muffled sound of Shadis' barked orders and her roommates' grumbled oaths, Annie Leonhardt lurched out of bed and rubbed the sleep from her reluctant eyes. She hadn't had the luxury of a full night's rest, and judging from the lethargic fogginess she couldn't shake off, Annie could tell that the day was going to be shit.

She kicked the bedpost to jolt awake her bunkmate, Mina (who always needed two or three or five times the encouragement to get up in the morning), and started doing some stretches in the hopes of working some life back into her muscles. Her joints popped in protest, her untamed blonde hair fell over her face. It seemed even her body wasn't enthusiastic about starting the day.

Annie opened the trunk at the foot of her and Mina's bunk and pulled out her hoodie, which she painstakingly folded and smoothed out every time she put it away. Pulling her cotton nightshirt off over her head, she laid it on her mattress and slipped the hoodie on. She then removed her uniform pants from the trunk, which were folded in an equally pristine manner. Stepping out of her pants from last night, she laid them next to her shirt and pulled on her uniform pants. Tucked in her hoodie. Zipped and buttoned her pants. Took a pair of socks from the trunk and put on first the left one, then the right one. Took the set of buckles and harnesses that were necessary to mount the three-dimensional maneuver gear and began assembling them: over the foot, up the calf, around the thighs, across the pelvis, around the waist, up the sides, across the back, around the collar, over the shoulders. Buckle. Tighten. Buckle. Tighten. Adjust. Buckle. Tighten. Grabbed her standard-issue black knee-high boots from next to her trunk and slipped her feet into them—first left, then right. Took her beige uniform jacket and shrugged it on. Carefully folded her night clothes and returned them to the trunk.

Annie glanced around. The only other person who had moved was Christa, from across the room; she'd pulled her covers up over her head.

As she knotted her hair into a tight bun, Annie strode to the door and left the room noiselessly, the slightest wry tug at the corner of her mouth. The thing Shadis hated the most was oversleeping trainees—they could deal with his wrath themselves.

* * *

At the mess hall, Annie grimly munched a bit of half-burnt toast across from Mina, who had already finished her breakfast.

"Twenty-six miles," grumbled Mina. "Twenty-six freaking miles. How the hell are any of us going to survive this, let alone make it back by dinner?"

Annie glanced up at her dark-haired friend. "Care to enlighten me?"

Mina gaped at the blonde. "The endurance test. The marathon. You forgot?"

With a sudden wave of unwelcome remembrance, Annie dropped the remainder of her toast onto the plate, having lost whatever appetite she had. "Well, shit."

Mina's jaw still hung open, and appeared ready to fall off her face at any point. "How the hell did you forget? This is the biggest physical test we've had so far, it's all anyone's been…"

She trailed off, leaning back in her seat. Slowly, a devious, knowing smirk crept onto her face.

Annie glared at her. "You know, every time you get that look I lose a little more of whatever morals are keeping me from murdering you in your sleep."

Mina leaned back in, as Annie crossed her arms. _It's him, isn't it?_ Mina mouthed confidentially.

Annie rolled her eyes (which had become practically habitual around her bunkmate). "I really couldn't care less what you think about… this thing."

Mina pushed Annie's shoulder playfully, causing the blonde to bristle. "No, come on, this is _exciting!_ Seriously Ann, it's been weeks since I ran into you guys and you haven't spilled anything! You gotta give me something here, this is too good."

"Uh-huh. Might want to wipe the drool off your chin," Annie deadpanned.

Mina giggled, stole Annie's neglected toast from the plate and took a bite of it. "Look, I get it, okay? You've gotta be the stoic, ice-cold type around everyone else, whatever, that's cool, that's so Annie. But you can't warm up to me even a _little?_ Come on, I've practically told you my whole life story over the last few months! You owe me."

Annie stared unflinchingly at her friend. "You're like a cat dragging in a dead rat and expecting to be rewarded for it."

Mina feigned offense. "Ouch, I'm deeply wounded. Anyway, you know I won't stop pestering you until you open up a bit."

"I've gathered."

Mina sighed, putting her hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Be that way," she said with a grin. Then, standing, she added, "I'll just go ask Eren."

As Mina made to leave the table, Annie snatched the girl's sleeve and pulled her back. Mina complied, laughing radiantly.

Annie sighed, as an overburdened mother does at a child's petulant behavior. "I cannot stand you."

* * *

Across the mess hall, Eren Jaeger fared just as poorly as Annie at avoiding the discussion his friends seemed dead-set on having.

Mikasa, his dear sister, was staring across the table at him with murder in her eyes.

"Look, it's not any of your business, alright?" Eren huffed, taking a bite of dry cereal. "It's reactions like this that made us want to keep it a secret in the first place."

"You know this is a bad idea," Mikasa pressed. "She's not good for you, Eren."

"Oh, come on," Eren said, exasperated. "I don't know what you have against her, but if you actually got to know her, I think you'd come around."

Mikasa narrowed her eyes at him.

Eren rolled his own eyes. "Okay, yeah, neither of you are social butterflies but seriously, I don't know why you hate her guts."

Mikasa sighed. "I don't hate her, but—"

Struggling for the right words, she turned to Armin for help. The boy in question, who had up to this point sat next to Eren as a quiet spectator, only shrugged.

"Mikasa, I think Eren's right," Armin said in a tone of condolence. "I get that you might not like Annie, but there's really not anything to be so worked up over."

Mikasa shot him a withering look. Then she sighed.

"Eren," she said firmly, reaching across the table to place her hand on Eren's. The boy looked up her with his bright green eyes.

"I want you to be happy," Mikasa said, "but I know how headstrong you are, and I just think that—"

"Headstrong? Is that what this is about?" Eren said, recoiling. "You don't even trust me enough to find someone I care about without getting myself _killed_, is that it?"

The offended sarcasm made Mikasa's dark eyes widen. "No, that's not—"

"I get it, okay?" Eren said, his jaw tightened. "You want to protect me over every little thing I do, but it's just getting ridiculous, Mikasa. I'm really trying to be patient with you, but when you act like this…"

He trailed off, looking away. Mikasa stared down at the table, a wave of heat washing over her face.

Abruptly, she stood and began striding away from the table.

"Where are you going?" Eren called, concerned.

"Some air," Mikasa stated without pause.

The two boys sat at the table, staring as the Eurasian stormed out of sight.

Armin glanced at Eren, not entirely sure what to say. "Well… at least she hasn't throttled Annie yet."

Eren gave him a wry look. "Yet."

Armin smiled. Eren looked down at his cereal.

"Dammit, Armin," he sighed. "I wish you hadn't told her."

Armin looked at his friend sympathetically. "We both know she would have found out, especially with all the gossip going around," he said. "Better to be told upfront than overhear some rumor."

"Yeah, I guess," Eren said, downcast. "Still, I… was hoping she'd have taken it better."

Armin looked away. He'd figured out a while ago why Mikasa was acting the way she was. It didn't take him long: it was shortly after he told Mikasa that Eren and Annie were seeing each other. He'd suspected it for some time—hell, he suspected it long before Eren and Annie had even met—but the unexpected secret romance of the cold blonde and hotheaded brunette, and Mikasa's sour reaction to it, told him everything.

Now he just had to decide what to do with this information, and if recent events told him anything, it was that he'd have to be more careful about what to do with others' secrets.

* * *

Mikasa leaned against the wall, arms crossed. She was so sick of having this… _urge._ It wasn't fair to Eren. It wasn't fair to herself. But she knew pushing it down further wouldn't make it go away. She'd tried for years now. It never worked. Not since that first day, where that damn overconfident idiot taught her to fight for what she wanted. Not since he wrapped that warm red scarf around her, and offered to be her new family. Not since… he gave her hope.

Mikasa's fists tightened. Her heart drummed against her ribcage. Her face still felt flushed.

_Eren._

* * *

Author's Notes: I'm alive. It's been almost two years. So much shit has happened in my life since the last time I updated this story. I won't ramble on, I hate these "omg it's been so long!" posts. But here you are, the third installment of Eren and Annie's struggle to not murder their nosy friends. I really, truly hope you've enjoyed it. I'd love to write more for this story, and I'd love to promise that I will soon, but I make no promises that I'm not certain I can keep. Just know that I will try my best. Your kind reviews and support are what make me want to come back to my stories, so thank you so much. And, well, sorry for the wait :)

-Steiner


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As the sun ploddingly arced across the midafternoon sky, Eren stumbled across the training grounds, as tired and thirsty as if he'd walked across an entire desert (not that Eren knew what a desert was—they didn't exist within the walls). His normally defiant brown hair was matted to his head with sweat, his cheeks were flushed and his lips were chapped from all of the panting he'd done over the past eight hours or so.

He'd just completed the first full twenty-six mile running test of the military training program, and the knowledge that there would be several more over the next two and a half years almost made him want to melt into a puddle.

Eren had no idea how he'd done it, but he'd managed to finish ahead of nearly the entire class. Every time the fatigue in his legs or shortness of breath begged him to slow down, some demon force took the reigns and drove him to go even faster. Most of the 104th trainee squad wouldn't finish for at least another hour, maybe longer. Eren knew that some others had finished before him, but he had no idea who. Part of him wanted desperately to see Annie now, but part of him hoped that she hadn't gotten back yet, because he was in no condition to… participate… in any activities.

Eren figured that whoever had arrived ahead of him would be in the mess hall getting dinner—they'd been promised double rations for completing the test, and considering they'd hardly eaten anything while running the marathon, Eren knew it would probably be the smartest idea to go fill his neglected stomach. But frankly, all he wanted to do was go to the male barracks and collapse in his bunk, and Eren couldn't convince his aching legs to carry him anywhere else. Besides, Shadis had decided to reward the trainees with a day off tomorrow, which meant he could finally get some much-needed rest—

As he passed the corner of a storage shed, Eren felt someone grab his collar and roughly pull him in, but he didn't have the energy to react until his coarse lips were pressed against someone else's warm and inviting mouth.

Annie.

After a moment of melting into the unexpected embrace, Eren pulled back, gulping for air. He grinned as he looked the girl over—her pale skin glistened with sweat, and her hair (somehow still in its signature bun) was rather less orderly than Annie would have normally allowed it. Like him, she was all-around grimy, but Eren had never seen anyone more beautiful.

"Hey," he said, his smile brighter than ever despite his obvious fatigue.

"You look like shit," Annie noted, one eyebrow cocked.

"You smell like shit," Eren replied, then laughed when he got a fist in the ribs in response.

"Wow, that was weak," he teased. "And here I thought you were never off your game."

Annie's eyes flashed. "Maybe you'd like to see everything I'm capable of?"

Eren sighed, smiling. "I'd fucking love to, Ann, but I'm barely on my feet as is."

Annie took his hands and led Eren into the storage shed (how was it unlocked?), ignoring his comment. Eren shook his head, laughing.

"Seriously, Annie, I'm afraid I'd pass out in the middle of—"

He was silenced by another, hungrier kiss (Annie had learned that was just about the only way to shut him up). She pulled his jacket over his shoulders and began untucking his shirt, fingers brushing against his warm, damp skin as they moved.

Eren pulled back again. "Annie, really, I don't have the energy."

Annie paused, and moved in until she was an inch away from his lips. "I do," she murmured, and Eren felt his spine tingle with excitement. "You don't have to do a thing. Just let me…"

She gave Eren a sudden push, and the boy fell back onto the floor. He watched as she removed her own clothes, one article at a time. He couldn't help but laugh at himself and the situation, feeling ridiculous—they both desperately needed a shower, a meal, and a nap, but somehow he knew they both wanted this more. Talk about horny lovebirds.

Annie climbed on top of him. Their eyes met and, despite his exhaustion, Eren had his mind made up. His expression told Annie everything she needed to know.

Annie began stripping off the rest of his clothes, and Eren allowed himself to lose control…

* * *

Mikasa stared up at the dark wooden beams above her head.

She lied on the stiff mattress of her bunk, hands folded under her head. She gazed, unblinking, as dust meandered through her vision. Her opaque gunmetal eyes saw but did not notice.

She was looking at something else. She was looking into someone else's eyes. They weren't present, but to her, they were there. Bright and vivid, like a window lit from behind. Green, like the tall-reaching trees beyond the walls. They hid nothing, told all. They spoke of dreams, dreams that longed to be chiseled into reality. They spoke of burning passion, excitable as a red ember that only needed the gentlest prod to crack into flames. And they were marred by a deep regret, one that did not make itself known at a glance but to her, to Mikasa, was unmistakable.

She blinked, and was back on her mattress, staring up at the dark wooden beams above her head. But this time, something in her was a little warmer.

Mikasa rolled onto her side. Then she slipped off her bed and left the room. The others were probably back by now, and she needed to find one of them.

* * *

Amongst the rifle racks and cold metal canisters of the storage shed, somewhere in between a stack of ammunition boxes and some barrels of gunpowder, Eren and Annie lied together, their naked forms serenely rising and falling with sleeping breaths. Annie lied facing up, blonde hair still a mess from their activities a few hours prior; Eren lied facing the ground, his arm wrapped around Annie's abdomen. For the moment, they were together; no past, no future, nobody and nothing else. They slept, together, and it was enough.

Annie woke. Her eyes simply opened, and the weight of the world descended onto her shoulders once again.

Moving gingerly (at first to avoid disturbing Eren, then because the soreness from the running test had finally caught up with her), she nudged Eren's arm off of her and stood. She glanced around. Her clothes were strewn about the room with Eren's; hoodie on the floor, pants over a barrel, underwear nowhere to be seen. Annie sighed, thinking back to how pristine her clothes had been this morning, folded seamlessly in the trunk at the foot of her bunk.

She almost smiled. Eren certainly had a way of turning her world on its head.

She crouched down by his sleeping form. The boy probably needed the rest—between their frequent nighttime meetings, the ceaselessly brutal training regimen, and today's running test, Annie wouldn't be surprised if he would sleep for a week straight if given the chance. She almost felt guilty that she'd have to ruin his moment of tranquility. Guilt…

Annie gazed down at Eren, silently. This damn boy made her feel things she shouldn't feel. Things she thought that she'd never feel, that she wasn't capable of feeling. She knew what she was doing to him was despicable. Unimaginably cruel. She had no right to take him the way she had—and she wasn't thinking of the sex. Annie was thinking of the way Eren looked at her, whether they were sparring in the afternoons or sharing a glance from opposite ends of the mess hall or passing each other on their way to drills. The way his eyes looked at her… so bright, so vivid, like a window lit from behind. Almost as if—

Wait… was he _drooling?_ Screw that, time to wake the bastard.

* * *

With a sudden breeze, the trees crackled and sighed, their dark branches swaying to and fro in the late evening chill. Curfew was coming soon. Most trainees had already gone to bed, burned out from the running test, but a few still mingled in the mess hall. Despite the merciless day, there was a contentment in their faces; the young soldiers were looking forward to their first day off in weeks (or months—it was easy to lose track of time in the military).

Eren and Annie glowed with a different sort of contentment, the kind that came with being able to hold hands as they walked across the training grounds without worry of being spotted by the others. Annie wasn't exactly a fan of trivial displays of affection like that, but… well, she didn't hate it, either.

"Just a heads up," Eren said with glint in his eyes, "if you don't see me tomorrow, it means I'm probably passed out in my bed. Don't wait up."

Annie raised an eyebrow at him. "Huh. Next time I'll be sure to be more gentle on Princess Jaeger."

Eren laughed, sheepishly. "I told you, up until you grabbed me behind the shed I was barely keeping my eyes open. I'm surprised you managed to wake me up afterwards."

"So am I," Annie said. "You sleep like horse. Snore like one, too."

Eren blinked. "I snore?"

"Yes."

"Huh," Eren said. "Wonder why Mikasa never mentioned it."

"I didn't know you slept with her," Annie said, tone unreadable.

Eren gave her a surprised look. "What? No, we never—what?"

"Relax, Jaeger," Annie said, bumping his shoulder with her own. "I know she's your sister."

Eren sighed, laughing. "You weirded me out for a second. Yeah, no. I meant, we shared a room at my house before the Titans… attacked. She and Armin and I left the city together, and we stayed with each other for more than a year before we joined the military. Guess I thought it would have come up at some point."

He glanced over at Annie, who was staring at him silently.

Eren looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bore you."

"No," Annie said, and her voice sounded… softer. "You never told me what happened before you came here."

"Oh." Eren looked at the blonde for a moment. "Well… if you want, I could—"

Annie froze, her grip on Eren's hand suddenly iron. Eren stopped in his tracks and turned his gaze forward.

Reiner was standing in the middle of the walkway, looking at them with a cocked eyebrow.

"Hey… guys."

Annie had time for one thought: _Fuck._

* * *

Author's Notes: Don't know if I mentioned this before, but in the canon of this story, all of the trainees are 18 (rather than 15 as they are in the manga and the anime). I have a vague plan for this story, which I'm ironing out more and more each day, so while I make no promises I have a vision for where I want things to go. Let's see how it turns out! Please leave a review to let me know your thoughts on my story, it's your support that keeps me going. Thanks for reading!

-Steiner


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Armin was sprawled over one of the couches in the downstairs common room, the back of his hand resting over his eyes. He'd been in this position for around two hours, having plopped down and fallen asleep the moment he returned from the running test. All told, he'd fared pretty well; to the surprise of both himself and several of the other trainees, he hadn't finished at the very rear of the pack. He still completed the test below the average time, but considering his… modest physique, he'd outdone his own expectations. To celebrate, he treated himself to an early bedtime, rather than staying up late to read as he normally did. His back wouldn't be thanking him in the morning for the location of his nap, but at the moment, Armin couldn't have cared less.

Armin was pulled from his blissful sleep when he felt something nudge his leg. He groaned, unwilling to move or open his eyes. A second nudge made him reluctantly remove his hand from his face and blink the sleep out of his eyes.

Mikasa stood over him, offering a plate of steaming dinner.

"Oh, hey," Armin mumbled, still working his way out of the nap.

"Hey, Armin," Mikasa replied, standing patiently as Armin groggily sat up and stretched.

"Thank you," Armin said, taking the plate gratefully as he remembered that he'd barely eaten a thing since breakfast, an eternity ago.

Mikasa sat down as Armin shifted over to make room for her. She took her own plate from the table in front of the couch, where she'd set it down a moment ago. Dinner was a mix of cooked potatoes and carrots; Armin had barely registered this before he started wolfing it down, his hunger catching up to him.

"What time is it?" the boy asked, noticing the dark windows and candlelit interior of the common room.

"A bit before curfew," Mikasa replied, taking a bite of carrot. "Everyone's back by now, but I haven't seen Eren."

Armin shrugged. "Me neither. I finished the running test after most of the others, and I came straight here."

Mikasa eyed him. "You did really well today."

Armin chuckled appreciatively. "Thanks… though I wasn't anywhere near you or Eren."

"We have our strengths," Mikasa said calmly. "So do you."

The two of them ate their dinner in comfortable silence for a while. (Armin wondered how she'd managed to sneak the food out of the mess hall, but he was still too tired to put much thought into it.)

"Armin."

The boy in question looked over. "Yeah?"

Mikasa looked down at her plate. "There's something I wanted to talk with you about." She paused, sighing. "It's… about…"

"Eren?"

Mikasa's gaze shot over to Armin, eyes wide.

"…you know?" she asked.

Armin nodded. "I… well… I figured it out."

Mikasa paused. Armin watched her, unsure how to proceed.

"You want to talk about it?" he prompted, gently.

Mikasa looked up at him.

"I… I want him to be happy," she began. "And, I know he is with… _her_. But something's off, Armin."

"What do you mean?" Armin asked. "I mean, I know you don't like Annie, but I'm unsure why."

The Eurasian brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. "There's something about her that I don't trust. I don't know what it is, exactly. But… I _know_ there's something not quite right there."

Armin sat back, crossing his arms. "I don't know, Mikasa. I mean, I want both you and Eren to be happy, and I get how you must feel, but… I don't think that it's fair to project your frustration at Annie."

Mikasa's expression hardened. "It's not like that, Armin. Obviously, I'd rather her not be with him… for selfish reasons. And I know that that isn't fair. But I'm talking about something else. The way she acts, so isolated from everyone else, the way she looks at us… it's… off."

"I mean, not to sound rude, but you're not the social type either," he reasoned.

Mikasa bristled. "Armin, I'm being serious here."

"So am I!" the boy said, sitting up. "I want to help you in any way that I can, but I just don't see what you mean—"

"Hey, I'm not interrupting, am I?"

Mikasa and Armin glanced over the back of the couch. Mina Carolina stood in the doorway, hesitantly curious. Neither Armin nor Mikasa answered, so she continued.

"Uh… I was just wondering if either of you had seen Annie. It's almost curfew, and she's not in the barracks or the mess hall, so…" she trailed off, hopefully.

"We haven't seen her, sorry," Armin volunteered, noticing Mikasa's silence. "Actually, on the same subject, have you seen Eren anywhere? He hasn't come into the barracks yet."

"Oh, they're both missing?" Mina inquired.

The three of them paused, simultaneously realizing the likely scenario. Armin glanced over at Mikasa; she was looking away.

Mina cleared her throat. "Uh, do you two, by any chance… know about… I mean, I know you're Eren's friends, so I assume he would have told you."

Armin smiled weakly at her. "Yeah, we know."

Mina broke out into a grin, walking over to the couch excitedly. "Oh my gosh, you do? Aren't they perfect together? I mean, I don't know how much he's told you—Annie hasn't told me shit—but, isn't it—?"

Mina's rambling was cut off by an abrupt scrape as Mikasa stood, grabbed the plates and stalked out of the common room.

"Sorry, did I do something?" Mina asked, concerned.

"I was just leaving," Mikasa said coldly.

Mina turned back to Armin. "Wow. She reminds me of Annie."

Armin smiled at her, more naturally this time. "A bit, yeah. Just less scary."

Mina laughed. "Please, Annie isn't scary in the least once you get to know her. I'm sure Mikasa's the same way. Mind if I sit?"

"Sure," Armin replied, and Mina plopped down next to him.

"I just realized, we haven't ever really gotten a chance to talk before, have we?" Mina said, tilting her head.

Armin blinked. "Uh, no, I don't think so."

Mina smiled warmly, and extended her hand. "Might as well make it official. I'm Mina Carolina."

Armin took her hand. "Um. Armin Arlert."

"Pleased to meet ya," Mina said with a firm handshake. "So anyway, there's something I was wondering about…"

* * *

Annie lied on her bunk, chin resting on her crossed arms over her pillow. The room was dark; most trainees were in bed by now, and the exhaustion from the running test meant that most of them would need to be kicked out of bed by Shadis in the morning. The blonde, however, knew she would have no such trouble. She rarely got more than a few hours of sleep any more. There was simply too much to think about.

Annie knew she'd screwed up today. The real reason she needed to keep her… _relations_ with Eren a secret was to avoid Reiner and Bertholdt finding out. Now, of course, there was no reversing what Reiner had seen. Things would be difficult, moving forward. Up until now, she had been the one out of the three of them who never made errors, who was never questioned and was always right. Although they were to work as equal parts of the team, there had never been any doubt that Annie was smarter and stronger-willed than the other two. However, letting her guard down for one moment had been enough to expose her illicit actions to Reiner, and that threw everything off course. They had reason to doubt her now, to question her, and maybe even accuse her. The two of them would undoubtedly be watching her from now on, and there was nothing that Annie hated more than being micromanaged.

Annie's jaw tightened. That hotheaded, loudmouthed idiot. Eren had made her life way more complicated than it had been for a long time. He was unwaveringly overconfident, often immature, and had a tendency to simply rub her the wrong way. More often than not, she didn't know whether she wanted to kiss him or punch the daylights out of him (though the latter was the more common choice). But…

She rolled onto her side, expression softening. It was inexplicable, unadvisable, and though she tried to ignore the thought, Annie knew in the back of her mind that this simply could not last. Yet here she was, unable to pull away. Drawn in by those bright green eyes—against every instinct, her own judgement, and the oath that she'd sworn all those years ago.

The oath that she'd broken.

The oath that would tear it all apart.

* * *

Author's Notes: I suppose the worst thing about this story, for me, is that the plot can go in so many different directions, but I can only write one of them. I have to simply choose one idea out of a thousand and roll with it, never knowing if it was the best choice. Not that I'm really bothered by this, of course. Because I think the best thing about this story is that it's unpredictable, even to me. There are certain things I know will happen, but the way that they happen, and the way that the plot makes its way to these points, remains to be seen. I hope that you're enjoying this journey with me—if you are, or even if you aren't, leave a review and let me know your thoughts!

-Steiner


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